Decision No. 46/2007/QD-BNN Issuing Regulations on Determining Planted Forests and Encircled Forests as Forests

Pursuant to …;

ISSUING REGULATIONS ON THE DETERMINATION OF PLANTED FORESTS AND ENCIRCLED NURTURED FORESTS AS FORESTS

 THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

   On the basis of the Law on Forest Protection and Development dated December 3, 2004;
   On the basis of Decree No. 23/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 3, 2006 of the Government on the implementation of the Law on Forest Protection and Development;
   On the basis of Decision No. 186/2006/QĐ-TTg dated August 14, 2006 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of the Forest Management Regulations;
   On the basis of Decree No. 86/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 2003 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
   On the basis of Circular No. 99/2007/TT-BNN-LN dated November 6, 2006 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding the implementation of certain Articles of the Forest Management Regulations issued together with Decision No. 186/2006/QĐ-TTg dated August 14, 2006 of the Prime Minister;
   In accordance with the proposal of the Director of the Forestry Service,

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. Issued together with this Decision are the Regulations on the determination of planted forests and encircled nurtured forests as forests.

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 3. The Head of the Office, the Director of the Forestry Service, the Heads of Departments and Units related, the Directors of Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development under the Central Government are responsible for implementing this Decision./.

REGULATIONS

REGULATIONS ON THE DETERMINATION OF PLANTED FORESTS AND ENCIRCLED NURTURED FORESTS AS FORESTS
(Issued together with Decision No. 46/2007/QĐ-BNN dated May 28, 2007 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development)

Part 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation, Applicability

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This document stipulates the principles, procedures, and criteria for determining planted forests and encircled nurtured forests as forests for three types of protective, special-use, and production forests.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

- Organizations, households, individuals implementing state budget-funded forest planting and encircled nurturing projects as specified in Clause 1 of Article 1 of this Decision.

- Organizations, households, individuals implementing forest planting and encircled nurturing projects using other sources of funding.

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and EnvironmentObjective

1. To serve forest management, transferring areas to be managed according to the provisions of Decree No. 23/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 3, 2006 of the Government on the implementation of the Law on Forest Protection and Development (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 23).

2. To fully record forest areas at the commune level, supplementing data for forest inventory and monitoring changes in forest resources.

3. To provide a basis for local authorities and forest owners to manage and protect forests.

4. To guide appropriate technical solutions for planning and implementing forest protection and development plans as currently prescribed.

5. To assess forest quality, providing a basis for forest valuation.

6. To calculate forest stock (if applicable) and forest cover.

Article 3. Principles for Determining Forest Areas

Determine forest areas for each planted or encircled nurtured forest plot when they meet the criteria for forests as stipulated in Article 5 of these Regulations.

Article 4. Procedures

1. For plots implemented with state budget funds: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development/Land Forest Inspection Agency or Forest Inspection Agency, based on project management files, shall take the lead and coordinate with local authorities at all levels, forest rangers, and organizations to conduct on-site inspections, determine areas, and evaluate the quality of each project owner's forest plot according to the criteria set out in Article 5 of these Regulations.

2. For plots implemented with self-funding by enterprises, households, or individuals: Local forest rangers shall monitor forest planting activities within their communes, report to the County Forest Inspection Station to coordinate with the Commune People's Committee to determine forest plots according to the criteria set out in Article 5 of these Regulations.

3. On-site measurement data shall be compiled according to forms 1 and 2; the results of determining planted and encircled nurtured forest areas shall be recorded in minutes according to forms 3 and 4 attached to these Regulations.

Part 2: CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING PLANTED FORESTS AND ENCIRCLED FORESTS TO BE CONSIDERED AS FORESTS

Article 5.Criteria for determining planted forests and encircled forests to be considered as forests

1. Planted Forests: have closed canopies, with relatively uniform distribution of planting density across the entire area, average height (H) greater than or equal to 2 meters, average diameter at breast height (D) greater than or equal to 2 centimeters, and the area of small gaps not exceeding 1000 square meters._bqshall be greater than or equal to 2m, the average trunk diameter (D₀) shall be greater than or equal to 2cm, the area of small gaps shall be less than or equal to 1000m²- Broadleaf deciduous timber forests: the number of regenerating target trees with a height of 1 meter or more is less than 700 trees/ha, unevenly distributed (for resprouting from a single mother plant with multiple sprouts, only the best sprout is counted) over the plot area; the total wood volume of all trees with a diameter at breast height of 8 centimeters or more is less than 40 m

2. Encircled Forests

a) For protective and special-purpose forests:

- Timber forest: after the encirclement period, there must be at least 400 target timber trees per hectare, with the coverage of shrubs, fresh vegetation, and large timber trees being greater than or equal to 50%, and the total area of small gaps not exceeding 1000 square meters per hectare;²- Broadleaf deciduous timber forests: the number of regenerating target trees with a height of 1 meter or more is less than 700 trees/ha, unevenly distributed (for resprouting from a single mother plant with multiple sprouts, only the best sprout is counted) over the plot area; the total wood volume of all trees with a diameter at breast height of 8 centimeters or more is less than 40 m

- Bamboo and rattan forest (commonly referred to as bamboo forest): after the encirclement period, the coverage of bamboo and rattan must be greater than or equal to 60%, and the total area of small gaps not exceeding 1000 square meters per hectare;²/ha.

b) For production forests.

- Timber forest: after the encirclement period, there must be at least 500 target timber trees per hectare, distributed relatively evenly across the entire area, with an average height greater than or equal to 4 meters, and the total area of small gaps not exceeding 1000 square meters per hectare;²- Broadleaf deciduous timber forests: the number of regenerating target trees with a height of 1 meter or more is less than 700 trees/ha, unevenly distributed (for resprouting from a single mother plant with multiple sprouts, only the best sprout is counted) over the plot area; the total wood volume of all trees with a diameter at breast height of 8 centimeters or more is less than 40 m

- Bamboo and rattan forest: after the encirclement period, the coverage of bamboo and rattan must reach greater than or equal to 70%, with the number of trees meeting the harvesting standard being greater than or equal to 20%, and the total area of small gaps not exceeding 1000 square meters per hectare;²- Broadleaf deciduous timber forests: the number of regenerating target trees with a height of 1 meter or more is less than 700 trees/ha, unevenly distributed (for resprouting from a single mother plant with multiple sprouts, only the best sprout is counted) over the plot area; the total wood volume of all trees with a diameter at breast height of 8 centimeters or more is less than 40 m

c) For other types of forests not covered under points a and b, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall establish criteria based on specific conditions of each locality to implement.

Part 3: ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

Article 6Budget for implementation

1. The funds for determining planted forests and encircled forests to be considered as forests shall be sourced from the annual state budget of the unit and included in the regular budget plan for implementing forestry management activities.

- The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall guide the preparation of the budget estimate for implementing the determination of planted forests and encircled forests to be considered as forests.

2. Expenditure items and expenditure standards.

a) Expenditure items: labor costs, materials and equipment, office supplies, fuel and transportation, travel expenses, and other expenses (if any).

b) Expenditure levels: implemented according to current financial regulations for funds provided by the state budget.

, Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 7a of this Regulation.Management of records

Records for determining the area of planted forests and encircled forests to be considered as forests shall be retained by specialized forestry management agencies at the provincial level, Forest Protection Stations at the district level, People's Committees at the commune level, Forest Rangers in the area, organizations, households, and individuals for management in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 8Implementation Organization

1. Organizations, households, and individuals implementing planted forests and encircled forests without using state budget funds shall be responsible for reporting the area of forests to the commune authorities, village/hamlet, forest rangers in the area, and requesting the determination of the area as forests.

2. Organizations, households, and individuals implementing planted forests and encircled forests using state budget funds: the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development/Forestry Service (or Forest Protection Service) shall organize and implement the determination of the area as forests.

3. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development/Forestry Service, Forest Protection Service shall supplement the area of forests that have been evaluated and determined to meet the standards for forests into the existing forest status map of the province for management.

4. Forest Protection Stations at the district level and People's Committees at the commune level where the forests are located shall be responsible for statistics on the area of forests for management, and Forest Rangers in the area shall be responsible for monitoring changes in the area of forests.

5. Specialized forestry management agencies at all levels shall be responsible for assisting People's Committees at all levels in managing forests in accordance with Article 8 of Decree No. 23/2006/NĐ-CP.

6. Based on the relevant provisions and attached tables, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall provide detailed guidance suitable to local conditions for implementation.